ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream of equality for all. Behind the scenes, many people helped make that dream a reality.
Since the beginning of the 1900s, a church in St. Augustine has been home to decades of history.
Inside the pulpit at Saint Paul AME Church on King Street in St. Augustine sits three wooden chairs with intricate carvings and lightly padded cushions. The center chair, slightly taller than the other, is where the pastor of the church, Reverend Alesia Ford-Burse, sits every Sunday.
Decades ago, it was the same chair that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sat in before delivering his inspiring speeches for equality during the Civil Rights Movement.
Men women and children would march beside him and many helped behind the scenes.
Cora Tyson and her husband housed King Jr. in the 1960s. Her husband asked her to cook for the civil rights leader.
“I fed Dr. King. It was around 1 something in the morning when they came in and he said this is the best food I’ve had. He said, ‘sister Tyson, can you cook again?’,” Tyson explained with a smile on her face.
The Tyson family would house Doctor King for two weeks. In the 1960s, most hotels were segregated, and African Americans were not allowed. Visitors found refugees at the homes of families and friends.
While King was in St. Augustine, marches would be happening day and night. An attempt to integrate public places was happening too.
One of those who marched was Beverly Trotman, who was arrested as an eighth grader for participating in sit-ins at a segregated restaurant in the Hotel Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College.
“We demanded to be served. We didn’t get served (and) they called the cops on us,” said Trotman.
Back then, Hotel Ponce de Leon was segregated. Trotman and other students wanted to integrate its restaurant. After protesting several times police took her other teens to jail.
“I stayed (in jail for) about a week and a half,” Trotman said.
Dr. King also faced arrest during his time in St. Augustine. He was taken into custody while attempting to integrate the lunch counter at the Monson Motor Lodge. His fingerprint card from that arrest is now on display at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, preserving an important piece of history.
Many of the marchers were destined for what was known as the Old Slave Market, just feet away from the Bridge of Lions in the Plaza de la Constitution near Charlotte Street and Cathedral Plaza.
Men, women and children would march.
“Well, it was sort of scary,” Cullar recalled. “But I would walk with my husband. [Dr. King] would move. He would talk. He would come in, and he would talk.”
Cullar and others marched through the streets of St. Augustine, starting from Washington Street and heading downtown to the city’s former slave market.
Her motivation to march stemmed from the racism she endured growing up.
“The buses would pass by, and the kids would look at you and spit on you, throw stuff at you,” Cullar said.
As the Civil Rights Movement continued, some of Dr. King’s speeches would foreshadow his death.
In one conversation with Tyson, he reflected on his mission and the sacrifices he knew he might have to make.
“One thing he told me about—‘I would love to live to see my three children finish school, walk down the aisle, but I don’t think so,’” Tyson said. “He said, ‘I am here on a mission. I am going to die with my shoes on.’ I asked him why he would say such a thing. He said, ‘Sister Tyson, look at the road I have traveled already, and I’ve got on my shoes. I very seldom take my shoes off.’”
This April marks 57 years since Dr. King’s life was tragically cut short. His legacy continues to inspire people to fight for equality, love, and justice. Through the stories of those who knew him, his dream lives on.